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Saints Row: The Third

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games

This page is for the original 2011 version. For the remastered version released in 2020, see Saints Row: The Third Remastered.

Saints Row: The Third
Saints Row: The Third cover
Developers
Volition
Linux Virtual Programming
Publishers
Former THQ
Current Deep Silver
Russia Akella
Engines
CTG[1]
Release dates
Windows November 15, 2011
Linux April 14, 2016[2]
Reception
Metacritic 84
IGDB 85
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, DLC
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Shooter, Open world
Vehicles Automobile, Flight, Helicopter, Naval/watercraft
Art styles Stylized
Themes Contemporary, Comedy, Sci-fi
Series Saints Row
Saints Row: The Third on HowLongToBeat
Saints Row: The Third on IGDB
Saints Row: The Third guide on StrategyWiki
Saints Row: The Third on MobyGames
Saints Row: The Third on Wikipedia
Saints Row
Saints Row 2 2009
Saints Row: The Third 2011
Saints Row IV 2013
Saints Row: Gat out of Hell 2015
Saints Row: The Third Remastered 2020
Saints Row 2022

General information

Official manual
Saints Row Wiki
Saints Row Mods forums
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Linux
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Linux
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
The Full Package also available.
Windows
Linux
GOG.com
DRM-free
The Full Package only
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
The Full Package also available.
Windows
Linux
Humble Store
DRM-free
Standard edition is DRM-free.
The Full Package also available.
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
The Full Package also available.
Windows
Linux
Origin (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Windows

Version differences

The Full Package does not include the following DLC: Bloodsucker Pack, Unlockable Pack. These are available separately or as part of the Ultimate Franchise Pack.
The GOG.com version handles DLC differently from the other versions and is only compatible with other GOG copies in multiplayer.


Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Instructions[3]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open display.ini.
  3. Add SkipIntroVideo = true in the file.
Delete/rename video files[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Videos.
  2. Delete or rename logo_amd_hd.bik and logo_thq_and_voli_hd.bik.

Skip game launcher

Change filenames[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>
  2. Rename game_launcher.exe to something else (e.g. game_launcher_disabled.exe)
  3. Rename SaintsRowTheThird.exe (for DirectX 9) or SaintsRowTheThird_DX11.exe (for DirectX 11) to game_launcher.exe

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\display.ini[Note 1]
Linux $XDG_DATA_HOME/vpltd/SaintsRow3/
This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\Saints Row The Third\
Steam <Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/55230/remote/
23 manual save slots + 1 autosave slot are available.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud
Approx. 100 MB available and cross-platform.

Video

Graphics settings.
Graphics settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Use SR3 FOV Editor
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Use Launcher with Advanced Graphic Options.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Up to 16 samples.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
2x, 4x and 8x MSAA
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Triple buffered.
60 FPS
Cutscenes are capped at 30 FPS; see Frame rate (FPS) to fix.
120+ FPS
Due to a poorly implemented 120 FPS cap,[4] the frame rate can behave erratically in some cases. See Frame rate (FPS).
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Frame rate (FPS)

Cutscenes are capped at 30 FPS, and some physics elements are capped at 60 FPS; use Cheat Engine below to fix.
In fullscreen mode, the game may switch to a 60 Hz refresh rate on startup; see Game uses incorrect refresh rate to fix.
Remove multiple FPS caps using Cheat Engine[citation needed]
This process must be performed each time the game is launched to take effect.
  1. Download and run Cheat Engine. Go to the main menu.
  2. Set Executable, Writable and CopyOnWrite to Don't Care and memory scan option to SaintsRowTheThird_DX11.exe.
  3. Disable the Fast Scan option and search for the value 0.00833333 as a float in rounded (extreme) mode. Select all values.
  4. Disable the Fast Scan option and search for the value 0.03333333 as a float in rounded (extreme) mode. Select all values.
  5. Disable the Fast Scan option and search for the value 0.01666666 as a float in rounded (extreme) mode. Select all values.
  6. Disable the Fast Scan option and search for the value 0.00833333 as a double in rounded (extreme) mode. Select all values.
  7. Disable the Fast Scan option and search for the value 0.03333333 as a double in rounded (extreme) mode. Select all values.
  8. Disable the Fast Scan option and search for the value 0.01666666 as a double in rounded (extreme) mode. Select all values.
  9. Set the all the values to (1/FPS), see below for example:
    • 0.00694444 for 144 FPS (floats).
    • 0.00277777 for 360 FPS (floats).
    • 0.00256410 for 390 FPS (floats).
    • 0.0069444444444444 for 144 FPS (doubles).
    • 0.0027777777777777 for 360 FPS (doubles).
    • 0.0025641025641026 for 390 FPS (doubles).

Notes

A few contextual 30 FPS animation caps in cutscene to gameplay transition cannot be removed with this method without crashing and they will appear as if they are heavily stuttering at higher rates; especially if output frame rate is not divisible by 30.
Heavily recommend using the in-game triple buffered v-sync for improved frame pacing due to the implementation of FPS caps, at the cost of slightly increased input latency for lower frame rate values.
Use ZPatch

Input

Input settings.
Input settings.
Key rebinding. All the categories (top) and first section of general (bottom).
Key rebinding. All the categories (top) and first section of general (bottom).
Controller settings.
Controller settings.
Controller buttons, first section.
Controller buttons, first section.
With Steam version if DirectInput controller is present, Steam wraps inputs from it instead of XInput controller, making XInput controller unusable. Game crashes when disconnecting controller unlike with XInput controller which is hotpluggable.[5]

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Weapon Store menus cannot be entirely navigated with a keyboard.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
XInput only.
Full controller support
Entering Cheat Codes and (now defunct) Community Login prompt requires keyboard input.
Controller remapping
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration
PlayStation controllers
Generic/other controllers
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Additional information
Button prompts
For DualShock controllers use DualShock Button Prompts mod.
Controller hotplugging
Steam version with DirectInput controller crashes when disconnecting the controller.[5]
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M
Rapidly changes button prompts, see this for a patch to lock controller glyphs.

Remove aim assist

Add mod file that removes aim assist[citation needed]
  1. Download this file
  2. Place it in the same folder as the game executable.

Audio

General settings.
General settings.
Audio settings.
Audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Auto configures up to 5.1 output[6]
Subtitles
Option in gameplay settings. Some cutscenes of "Gangstas in Space" and "The Trouble with Clones" DLCs are not subtitled.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Option in gameplay settings.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Czech
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Korean
Retail only.
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Fan translation; download.
Russian
Spanish

Network

Steam and GOG.com copies can not connect to each other in multiplayer.

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
Local play
2 Co-op, Versus
Use Nucleus Co-op.
LAN play
2 Co-op, Versus
Online play
2 Co-op, Versus
Only in the Steam version

Connection types

VR support

3D modes State Notes
vorpX
2D
Officially supported game.
Note:Game is on official list, but not yet confirmed to be 3D to PCGW.

Issues fixed

Game uses incorrect refresh rate

The DirectX 11 version may default to the lowest supported refresh rate, ignoring the setting in the configuration file.
Override refresh rate set by game[7]
  1. Download the latest release of 3Dmigoto (3Dmigoto-XX.zip).
  2. Go into the 3Dmigoto archive, and go into x32.
  3. Copy the contents to the installation folder.
  4. Open d3dx.ini found in the installation folder.
  5. Change hunting=1 to hunting=0.
  6. Change ;refresh_rate=60 to desired hertz (e.g. refresh_rate=120 sans the ;).

Stuttering caused by My Steelport service shutdown

The game repeatedly attempts to connect the now-defunct My Steelport service, which may cause the game to stutter.
Edit hosts file[8]
  1. Go to %WINDIR%\System32\drivers\etc.
  2. Open hosts with a text editor running as administrator.
  3. Add the line 127.0.0.1 sr3.hydra.agoragames.com and save the file.

Notes

This fix will also enable the game to use My Steelport emulator.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9.0c, 11 Backward compatibility for Direct3D 10 and 10.1 GPUs is provided by Direct3D 11
Shader Model support 3, 5
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
Linux

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics Havok
Audio Wwise
Cutscenes Bink Video
Multiplayer Steamworks For Steam version.

Mods

Saints Row Mod Manager
Things To Do In Steelport combines multiple community mods, including bug fixes, gameplay improvements and new content.
Launcher with advanced graphics options has a user-friendly frontend for display settings editing.[9]

My Steelport

The My Steelport service was shut down on January 31, 2018,[10] taking with it all community-created characters. Players wanting to share custom characters need to make use of a community-made local server emulator for Windows.

command line parameters

Parameter Description
-localize_language us Set language to English
-localize_language cz Set language to Czech
-localize_language nl Set language to Dutch
-localize_language fr Set language to French
-localize_language de Set language to German
-localize_language it Set language to Italian
-localize_language pl Set language to Polish
-localize_language ru Set language to Russian
-localize_language jp Set language to Japanese
-localize_language es Set language to Spanish

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo
AMD Athlon X2
System memory (RAM) 2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 10 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 8800
ATI Radeon HD 3800
320 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
Shader model 3.0 support
Sound (audio device) DirectX compatible sound card
Linux
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 14.04.3, 15.04, 17.1, SteamOS
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i5-4570T 2.9 GHz
AMD Athlon II X2 270 3.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 4096 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 7 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GT 630
AMD Radeon HD 6850
1 GB of VRAM
Other MESA drivers and Intel Graphics are not currently supported.
Some Intel cards may work for example Intel HD 4000


Notes

  1. When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References

  1. What does CTS stand for? - Saints Row Mods - last accessed on 2017-05-14
  2. Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row 2 now available for Linux and SteamOS! - last accessed on 2016-04-14
  3. Disable intros? - Steam Users' Forums(retrieved)
  4. Verified by User:Blackbird on 2020-04-14
    On my 240 Hz monitor the game definitely doesn't go any higher even on lowest settings in the middle of the sea.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Verified by User:Marioysikax on 14 July 2015
  6. PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up - last accessed on May 2023
  7. Verified by User:Keith on 2021-05-14
  8. Micro freezing/lagging - Saints Row Mods - last accessed on May 2023
  9. Launcher with Advanced Graphic Options - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
  10. TrueAchievements - Saints Row: The Third - My Steelport Server Closure - last accessed on 2019-07-11